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Why every student should be on LinkedIn

If you’re anything like me as a uni student, you probably assume LinkedIn is just a platform for lawyers, businesses and people in suits. Spoiler alert: it’s not! Joining LinkedIn in second year literally transformed my life.

In the last year, LinkedIn has gained massive popularity amongst influencers, trendy businesses and – yes – students too! It’s definitely come a long way from its stereotype as ‘just a professional Facebook’. LinkedIn isn’t a professional platform – it’s a platform for professionals, and aspiring professionals too! Here’s four reasons why you should give it a go:

Building your personal brand:

When a potential employer Googles your name, what’s the thing that’s most likely to pop up? A picture of you in fancy dress during Fresher’s week? An extract from when you were featured in the local paper aged 10? Or … your LinkedIn profile?

Having a LinkedIn profile is a great way to build your professional presence online, and begin to establish your personal brand as someone who can be taken seriously as a potential employee. What’s more, LinkedIn has great search engine rankings which means its going to SHOOT to the top of your search results. Take control of your personal brand!

TOP TIPS:

  • Populate your profile with a (suitable) profile image, bio section and education / work experience history. Fully filled out profiles get boosted for more views!
  • Post regularly! Talk about your degree, the industry you want to get into or even start off just sharing other people’s posts if you’re hesitant. Everything helps!

Search for jobs:

If you’re looking for part time work whilst you study, LinkedIn has a function for that! You can use their search filters to find opportunities that fit your unique requirements. You can search for things like: “part time, remote social media jobs in London” and LinkedIn will tell you what’s out there! There’s even an option to receive job alerts direct to your inbox, so you don’t have to do any work at all.

Posting on LinkedIn also means you’re likely getting noticed by employers, whether you’re actively job searching or not! Talking about your industry or subject of study online is a great way to establish yourself as a desirable candidate, and future employers are absolutely taking note.

TOP TIPS:

  • Use all of LinkedIn’s search functions to pinpoint what you’re looking for: if you want a remote, casual hours job in marketing, LinkedIn can help you search for it.

Build your network:

LinkedIn is, first and foremost, a networking platform. It enables you to build connections with employers, professionals and people from your industry who you can learn from or even get opportunities through. Whether you find a mentor who works in the industry you’d like to get into or an employer who wants to give you your very first job opportunity, people on LinkedIn are there to network, and they’ll want to talk to you.

TOP TIPS:

  • Connect with people who work in the industry, or company, you want to get into – send a message along with your connection request to give it a personal touch.
  • Engage on the newsfeed with likes, comments and shares to help people remember you.
  • Only connect with people you think can add genuine value to your network. A network full of irrelevant people helps no one.

So, who’s giving LinkedIn a try?

You can sign up for free via your phone or laptop, and it really couldn’t be easier. If you do make an account, go and give us a follow for more tips and tricks.

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